British Airways has released the first official details of ‘The First Wing‘ at its London Heathrow home. The First Wing will encompass and enlarge the existing First Class check in area at the South end of Terminal 5, linking through to new security channels which, for the first time, will allow eligible passengers direct access to the carrier’s Galleries First Lounge.

The First Wing will be open to members of the British Airways Executive Club at the Gold tier and above, as well as to Emerald cardholders of oneworld alliance frequent flyer programmes and, of course, to all those travelling in British Airways’ First Class. The latter will also enjoy direct access to The Concorde Room.

The check-in area is 250% larger than the original First Class zone, and The First Wing is defined by a three metre high and 29 metre long curved wall, which serves to guide passengers through to the lounge complex.

The First Wing is slated to open in early April 2017. For more information, visit ba.com.

Heathrow Express, the fast rail link between London’s Paddington Station and Heathrow Airport, is offering members of the British Airways Executive Club complimentary upgrades from Express Class to Business First for a limited period.

Departing every 15 minutes, the non-stop journey time is 15 minutes to Heathrow Terminals 1, 2 & 3, with an additional 4 minutes on to Terminal 5. A shuttle service operates between Terminals 1, 2 & 3 and Terminal 4.

Business First Class principally offers larger ‘individual’ seating, with more legroom than Express Class.

To take advance of this promotion you must book your Heathrow Express ticket through this page at ba.com.

British Airways Executive Club proof of membership is required, along with your ticket for inspection when on board the Heathrow Express. The offer is available to book between 1st August 2014 and 31st August 2014. Travel must be within three months of booking.

Tickets are valid for three months from date of transaction. Singles are valid for one journey within three months date of transaction. Return tickets are valid for one calendar month from date of outward journey, within three months of transaction date.

The concept of so-called ‘opaque’ hotel bookings – ones where the guest chooses a star rating and rough location, but doesn’t know the precise name of the hotel being offered – has been around for more than a few years now. The internet has undoubtedly fuelled growth in the genre, though ‘mystery tours’ have been popular since charabancs started chugging off into the unknown.

Travel website lastminute.com promotes their version of the ‘opaque’ booking through its Top Secret ® Hotels offers; the unidentified hotels appear in the lists of properties returned in a standard hotel search.

There’ll probably never be a definitive answer – indeed the opacity of the offer means that all the parties on the supply-side are completely in control of what they make available, at what price and described in ways that they’re free to amend at any time.

However, to encourage guests to give Top Secret ® Hotels a try, lastminute.com has introduced a promotional code offering 10% off this specific booking method. There are 4,000 opportunities to use the code, and bookings must be made by 23:59 on 31st March 2014.

This code continues to work into July 2014; we don’t have a new expiry date, so do continue trying to use it! Code now reported to be invalid.

To check availability and to book with the discount, visit lastminute.com/hotelsand enter the code ‘trialtopsecret‘ (all lower case) when prompted.

British Airways has today announced the inauguration of new routes to Mykonos, Santorini, Oporto, Faro (Portugal) and Malaga from its Heathrow hub in Summer 2014.

The route launches come hot-on-the-heels of the news that Malta will also rejoin the BA route network from next Summer, with service from London Gatwick.

The new routes will feature Euro Traveller economy and Club Europe business class cabins.

Schedules are currently being loaded into the system and, so far, the following show:

Destination

Days

From

Time

Flt No

From

Time

Flt No

Faro

Sa Su

Dep

LHR

16:15

BA508

Dep

FAO

19:45

BA507

Mykonos

Sa

Dep

LHR

11:45

BA650

Dep

JMK

18:30

BA651

Mykonos

Tu

Dep

LHR

11:10

BA650

Dep

JMK

17:55

BA651

Oporto

Th Su

Dep

LHR

15:35

BA506

Dep

OPO

18:55

BA505

Malaga

Fr

Dep

LHR

15:55

BA454

Dep

AGP

20:50

BA455

Malaga

Su

Dep

LHR

16:00

BA454

Dep

AGP

20:55

BA455

Santorini

We Su

Dep

LHR

11:45

BA652

Dep

JTR

18:40

BA563

Oporto, Faro & Malaga services commence on 30th March 2014, Mykonos on 3rd May and Santorini on 4th May 2014.

The new destinations will also be offered as ATOL-protected packages through the carrier’s BA Holidays division. Bookings for flight-only, flight plus hotel and flight plus car rental will all be available through the British Airways website as soon as inventory loading is complete.

Less than a week after the first passengers boarded the inaugural commercial flight of British Airways’ new Airbus A380 aircraft, Newcastle International Airport welcomed the airline’s other new addition to the fleet – the Boeing 787 ‘Dreamliner’.

The visit to the North East England regional airport represented the first port-of-call on a round-Britain tour of British Airways’ domestic airports, and the start of a day which would see customer passengers boarding a BA 787 flight for the very first time.

Prior to landing in Newcastle, the aircraft overflew the Rolls-Royce factory in Derby, to mark the contribution made by the company’s workforce to the design, development and construction of the two Trent 1000 engines which power the 787. A Rolls-engined WWII Spitfire joined in the flypast.

Abu Dhabi-based carrier Etihad has announced details of its home-airport ‘Meet & Greet’ service, available to passengers travelling in any cabin class on board its services.

Two levels of assistance are offered, with both providing gate or bus rendez-vous with Etihad staff who will guide passengers through the arrivals process, including fast-track immigration and baggage assistance.

The Gold Package offers a one-to-one service and complimentary porterage to transport baggage at the airport. The Silver Package provides one staff member for 1-5 guests. Both packages include fast-track immigration and baggage collection.

The Etihad Meet & Greet service joins a growing number of bespoke airport and airline services, although it’s unusual in being an airline-operated service that’s open to all passengers. Universal availability tends to be the preserve of airport-operated services, such as Singapore’s JetQuay which we sampled in 2009:

Airline services are most usually tied-in to Business or First Class on-board travel. There are also a number of agents offering personalised service across a range of airports. Although limited to Abu Dhabi Airport, the Etihad Meet & Greet service is potentially most notable for its rates. The Gold Package is priced at AED240/USD65; the Silver Package is AED140/USD38.

Standing 87 metres or 318 feet tall, few passengers travelling through London Heathrow Airport can miss the still relatively new control tower, which became operational in 2007.

Despite its almost omnipresence through the windows of terminal buildings and aircraft alike, it’s unsurprisingly somewhere that few outside the ranks of NATS (formerly National Air Traffic Services) employees and suppliers ever get to see from the inside out.

So the invitation to accompany a small group, hosted by British Airways, was accepted with lightning speed.

If you are flying into Heathrow Airport this Summer, look out for a giant painting of Team GB Olympian Jessica Ennis on the ground below before you land.

The image has been specially commissioned to welcome both visitors and those returning home to the UK – as well as reminding competitors that only one nation has the ‘Home Advantage’). And, if you see it and you wonder how it was created, here’s a time-lapse video showing it all from the grass up:

The Welcome To Our Turf image is part of British Airways‘ support for Team GB and Paralympic GB athletes, as well as the London 2012 games themselves. To follow the progress of the teams, search online for #HomeAdvantage.